The Criterion Collection

[Scottie]

Originally Posted by natureboy

In actual Criterion news:

http://blog.criterioncast.com/post/7...ilable-to-rent

[Show spoiler]

Wonder if this means a blu release is imminent as well? I love Lean but haven't seen this one. I know TCM is showing it at the end of the month (along with Passionate Friends, another of his I haven't seen).

It will be on TCM at the end of the month, F.Y.I.

[The Great Owl]

I couldn't wait.

I ordered a ridiculously cheap used DVD of In a Lonely Place from a third party Amazon dealer, and it was waiting for me just now when I arrived home. I've got Nicholas Ray on the brain since watching On Dangerous Ground and The Racket the other night, so I'm looking forward to playing this one in a few minutes.

Criterion will probably announce In a Lonely Place this week after I shelled out six dollars for the DVD, and that would be great. I don't mind taking one for the team.

[smoss469]

Originally Posted by natureboy

Ha! Is there anything good on that Eclipse set? All of the films have terrible imdb scores if I recall correctly.

It took me forever to get through Wild 90 which I'd give 0 out of 5 stars. Maidstone? 1 out of 5. I was intrigued by the write ups as each had a plot that sounded entertaining. I thought Wild 90 would be at least watchable but it's atrocious. Mailer can't act, the sound is awful (Not CC's fault by the way) and he spends half the movie just grunting and shouting out things that make no sense. Maidstone is like a bad documentary that they tried to re-edit to be a movie within a movie type situation. It's supposed to be about his "Characters" run for president but it's like they left almost 100% of that plot on the cutting room floor. I haven't watched Beyond the Law yet but even if it was a 5 star film, it wouldn't be enough to redeem this set. Thankfully I got it during the 50% off sale and it was only $19.99 but still.... what a stinker!

Originally Posted by bwdowiak

Yes!



My first clue would have been the 4.5/10 rating on IMDB. of course, that is popular opinion, but the only people to vote on it are likely to have been the people who sought it out in the first place. now if Smoss has an IMDB account, he can drag it down further!

I have an account, I've voted it as 1 star

I don't generally go by ratings though, some excellent movies (IMO) have low ratings. Other movies with high ratings are absolute garbage. Different strokes for different folks.

Thankfully I got some enjoyment out of the Up All Night With Robert Downey Sr set. 1 or 2 of those weren't that great but I really loved the off the wall nonsense nature of Babo 73 and Putney Swope was a solid film as well. Just skip No More Excuses as it's pretty much a boring "Singles Scene" documentary with a few bad skits in between.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by ultlife2013

I really liked Alphaville, if criterion would re release that on blu that would be awesome.

Unfortunately, it's part of the StudioCanal collection that they lost the rights to.

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by smoss469

I have an account, I've voted it as 1 star

I don't generally go by ratings though, some excellent movies (IMO) have low ratings. Other movies with high ratings are absolute garbage. Different strokes for different folks.

I'm now compelled to search for the lowest IMDB ranking in my collection.

To the best of my knowledge, it comes down to a tie...
A Safe Place (1971) = 5.3 rating
Swamp Thing (1982) = 5.3 rating

Swamp Thing is awesome, and people who gave it low ratings are impaired. A Safe Place deserves the 5.3, though.

I would have thought that Hitman would have the lowest ranking of the Blu-rays in my collection, but it's riding high at 6.3.
The Counselor, which is the most unfairly maligned movie of 2013 in my opinion, ranks at 5.5.
The Americano (1955) is ranked 5.4, and this astounds me, because it's a fantastic little movie.

For the record, I do not lend a lot of credence to the IMDB ratings, because they tend to be heavily swayed toward the latest Marvel superhero movies from the most recent summers and such, but I am generally intrigued when a movie receives universal acclaim.

[mattrobin90]

What's everyone's opinion on Brazil? My friend let me borrow the movie and I plan on watching it tonight. Anything I should know beforehand? I heard it's pretty bizarre and confusing, but one of the better sci-fi films from the 80s.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I'm now compelled to search for the lowest IMDB ranking in my collection.

To the best of my knowledge, it comes down to a tie...
A Safe Place (1971) = 5.3 rating
Swamp Thing (1982) = 5.3 rating

Swamp Thing is awesome, and people who gave it low ratings are impaired. A Safe Place deserves the 5.3, though.

I would have thought for that Hitman would have the lowest ranking of the Blu-rays in my collection, but it's riding high at 6.3.
The Counselor, which is the most unfairly maligned movie of 2013 in my opinion, ranks at 5.5.
The Americano (1955) is ranked 5.4, and this astounds me, because it's a fantastic little movie.

For the record, I do not lend a lot of credence to the IMDB ratings, because they tend to be heavily swayed toward the latest Marvel superhero movies from the most recent summers and such, but I am generally intrigued when a movie receives universal acclaim.

Sorry, but I cannot agree with your assessment of Swamp Thing.

I couldn't even begin to check all the "suspicious" titles in my collection against the IMDb ratings. However, one (DVD, not Blu-ray) that I did check was Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!, which has a 4.6 rating.

Quite frankly, that's a movie that I got a kick out of when I first saw it (I loved a comment in the review of it in the magazine Cinefantastique, which went: "When a movie deliberately sets out to be bad, can you really blame it if it succeeds?"), but it is a seriously awful movie. I actually wouldn't have it in my collection, but my wife bought it on a whim.

Slightly higher on the IMDb (4.7) is Sugar Cookies, which I liked quite a bit when I saw it on a pay-movie service back in the early 80s, but haven't seen since. I do have it on DVD, but never got around to watching the disc; I'm afraid it's going to turn out to be one of those "What the hell was I thinking?" titles.

Another film that's one of my (seriously) guilty pleasures has a 3.2 rating at the IMDb: Spice World. It's not in my collection, though.

[biglou114]

Originally Posted by mattrobin90

What's everyone's opinion on Brazil? My friend let me borrow the movie and I plan on watching it tonight. Anything I should know beforehand? I heard it's pretty bizarre and confusing, but one of the better sci-fi films from the 80s.

Not only my favorite Gilliam film, but my favorite film from the 80s!

[The Great Owl]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Sorry, but I cannot agree with your assessment of Swamp Thing.

I couldn't even begin to check all the "suspicious" titles in my collection against the IMDb ratings. However, one (DVD, not Blu-ray) that I did check was Attack of the Killer Tomatoes!, which has a 4.6 rating.

I admittedly have strong nostalgic ties to Swamp Thing, but I was surprised at how much fun I had revisiting the movie via the Scream Factory Blu-ray. It's a shame that Wes Craven's original vision for the movie was sliced and diced due to budget cuts, but Craven and company made a fun flick considering the resources at their disposal. More than anything, I get a real kick out of watching Louis Jourdan, who was also good as the villain in the James Bond movie, Octopussy.

I do think that Wes Craven is one of the most overrated horror directors of all time, and most of his films have not aged well at all. (Sorry, The Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, but I'm talking about you.) Swamp Thing is all in good fun, though.

I saw Attack of the Killer Tomatoes several times during my childhood, because it used to air on Elvira's Movie Macabre, but I'm afraid to revisit it these days. I think that Elvira's interlude comments before and after the commercial breaks made the movie for me, in retrospect.

[ultlife2013]

Originally Posted by jayembee

Unfortunately, it's part of the StudioCanal collection that they lost the rights to.

That's a real shame, it would be a cool movie to see upgraded,

[KrugerIndustrial]

Picked up Melville's Léon Morin, Priest on Blu-ray. Can't wait to revisit. I enjoyed it quite a bit when I first saw it a year ago.

[BladeRunner2007]

I just couldn't decide so I ordered them all

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I admittedly have strong nostalgic ties to Swamp Thing, but I was surprised at how much fun I had revisiting the movie via the Scream Factory Blu-ray. It's a shame that Wes Craven's original vision for the movie was sliced and diced due to budget cuts, but Craven and company made a fun flick considering the resources at their disposal. More than anything, I get a real kick out of watching Louis Jourdan, who was also good as the villain in the James Bond movie, Octopussy.

I do think that Wes Craven is one of the most overrated horror directors of all time, and most of his films have not aged well at all. (Sorry, The Nightmare on Elm Street and Scream, but I'm talking about you.) Swamp Thing is all in good fun, though.

I saw Attack of the Killer Tomatoes several times during my childhood, because it used to air on Elvira's Movie Macabre, but I'm afraid to revisit it these days. I think that Elvira's interlude comments before and after the commercial breaks made the movie for me, in retrospect.

I have the recalled dvd of Swamp Thing which had the European cut that showed the two biggest reasons I'm a fan.
I do like some of Craven's films although like is not the correct word to use with the original Last House On The Left. I know it's a knock-off of The Virgin Spring (keeping this Criterion related) but to this day I still find it to be an unsettling film with one of the most famous ad phrases-"it's only a movie, only a movie...." ever. Both the film and the ad spawned numerous imitators back in the Slasher Film era.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by BladeRunner2007

I just couldn't decide so I ordered them all

Good Man!

Remember: "When in doubt, buy them all!"

I only wish I could follow my own advice.

[jayembee]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I admittedly have strong nostalgic ties to Swamp Thing, but I was surprised at how much fun I had revisiting the movie via the Scream Factory Blu-ray.

I haven't seen the film since it first came out, and who knows, I might be a little warmer to it now, but it's definitely not high on my list of BDs to watch, let alone spend money on. I should also say that I was looking at it from the perspective of someone who loved the original Len Wein/Berni Wrightson comics. I don't usually judge movie adaptations by how faithful they are to the source, but in this case...

[brandon_260]

Received and rewatched George Washington today. It holds up incredibly well. Definitely one of my top 5 of the decade. It's so great to finally have this in HD, because it's such a gorgeous piece of work.

[Mooch360]

Originally Posted by gates70

I've been blind buying tons of old classic movies and loving it. I still have tons that are unwrapped and unseen such as Seven Samurai, Citizen Kane, James Dean collection, All About Eve, West Side Story, Zatoichi, Vincent Price collection, and many many more. I just recently watched all my Hitchcock's that I purchased and had never seen, as well as stuff like Twelve O'Clock High, Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Maltese Falcon, An Affair to Remember, and many more, and loved them all. Now to get to my point...I'm ready to blind buy yet again, but I need feedback on some of these since I know little of them. What I'm looking at are;

Tokyo Story
Breathless
Rififi
8 1/2
La Haine
and 2 non Criterion...
How Green Was My Valley
The Best Years of Our Lives

Any feedback would be appreciated my friends!

Don't listen to the nay-sayers, Breathless is fantastic. I liked How Green Was My Valley and The Best Years of Our Lives as well, although not as much. I have Tokyo Story but I haven't watched it yet.

Here's some other good ones to consider:
The Bridge on the River Kwai
12 Angry Men
Mrs. Miniver (not a classic per se, but I liked it)
Wild Strawberries
La Grande Illusion
Wages of Fear
Anatomy of a Murder
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp
Stagecoach

[CHEЯNOБLY!]

Ok, so I finally got around to seeing Blue Is the Warmest Color via Netflix yesterday.

First, I would like to opine that it should have won every major editing award—Oscar (any eligibility requirements aside), Golden Globe, BAFTA, Cesar...take your pick—because that did NOT feel like a 3 hour movie. Well done to the editing team. A longer running time seems to be in fashion these days, and I am really feeling the length on most of these films...Wolf of Wall Street comes to mind. Blue breezed by.

Of course, Adele was really good in the lead role. Beautiful looking film too. I liked the use of intimate close-ups, and the director's insistence of no make-up was oddly refreshing. The sex scenes didn't really strike me as a big deal, but maybe that was because of all the hoopla...I was perhaps expecting something more graphic. Some of the Skinemax-style sex was silly, and I get that criticism.

As far as the story goes, I wasn't really blown away. The plot was pretty straight-forward and predictable, and didn't really strike me as anything new, but romantic relationship dramas have never been a strong interest of mine. It wouldn't have been my pick for the Palme d'Or (my favorite is still The Great Beauty), but I would recommend checking it out.

[hoytereden]

Originally Posted by The Great Owl

I couldn't wait.

I ordered a ridiculously cheap used DVD of In a Lonely Place from a third party Amazon dealer, and it was waiting for me just now when I arrived home. I've got Nicholas Ray on the brain since watching On Dangerous Ground and The Racket the other night, so I'm looking forward to playing this one in a few minutes.

Criterion will probably announce In a Lonely Place this week after I shelled out six dollars for the DVD, and that would be great. I don't mind taking one for the team.

$6 is great price for it. I remember Columbia charging high prices for their classic title DVDs back in the day. I think the only Bogart title of theirs I ended up getting was Sahara. Love that film!
Did you watch They Live By Night from the Noir set?

[SlickDamian]

I can't wait to watch Thief tomorrow. I love the vibe given off by Risky Business and Against All Odds. Drive seems to pay homage to these films. It looks to me like Their is a part of that style as well. Michael Mann is also excellent at capturing a particular "mood".